More Of The Same.
Click On The Maps To Enlarge Them.
Valid At 19Z/1 PM MDT This Afternoon.
Our Chances For Rain Are Gone For Now.
This massive middle and upper level subtropical ridge of high pressure (seen depicted in the map above) has dominated New Mexico's weather all summer long. At times, it has shifted far enough to the east to allow monsoonal moisture to flow northward out of Mexico, and into mostly into the western one-third of the state.
Southeastern New Mexico has been left out of this pattern for the most part this summer. This ridge of high pressure acts like a lid on a pot of boiling water on a stove. It caps the atmosphere (preventing lifting, and therefore killing our t-storm chances ) and traps the heat underneath it. Thus we are having one of the hottest and driest summers (and year too so far) on record.
We can expect to see our afternoon high temperatures range from around 100 to 104 for the rest of this week. Our chances for rain here in the southeastern plains are pretty much slim to none. The computer models are forecasting a fairly decent cold front to enter the area late this weekend or the first of next week. If this forecast is correct then our chances for t-storms could increase across the local area.
At 3 PM MDT, Category 1 Hurricane Irene was located 215 miles SE of Grand Turk Island, or 65 miles NNW of Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Irene is moving off to the WNW at 13 mph, and may slow down some in her forward speed in a day or two. Hurricane Irene has sustained winds of 80 mph with gusts near 100 mph. Her central pressure is down to 988 millibars, or 29.18 inches of mercury.
Anyone living from Florida northward along the Southeastern US Seaboard (especially the Carolinas) should really pay attention to this Hurricane. In a couple of days Irene will have the potential to strengthen into a Major Hurricane (Cat 2 or 3) as she moves across the central-northwestern Bahamas.
There remains some uncertainty in her eventual track and speed into this weekend, so please stay abreast of all of her latest updates and changes, via the National Hurricane Center, or your favorite local media outlets. Irene will have the potential to affect a huge area of the country, all up and down the Eastern US Seaboard later this week into early next week.
The Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction!
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